A derivitave of the 80's software piracy scene. Originally "elite" was used to show status on a BBS. Commonly the people who cracked the software, or had sysop access on a board would be referred to as Elite. Later it became common to just use "leet." With the internet explosion it was later used to describe hackers as well as crackers. Due to it being great to be known as leet, newbies started adopting the term and using to describe themselves, often with numerical variations. Anyone who considers themselves "leet" should be able to tell you who/what Razor1911 is, anyone failing to answer this question should be laughed at.

"Wow, those guys that run this new board are leet, they had win 3.1 a week before it came out!"

I'm tired of the stupid shits thinking that they know anything. I'm surprised to see that there hasn't been one correct origin of leet in four fucking pages.

Yes, leet means elite. Shut the fuck up about it already. Your insulting or not insulting definition isn't worth putting in just becuase you (just like everybody else) know that stupid little fact. It also isn't funny.

Yes, leet is a language, now used by gamers, some deserving of using such a language and some not.

As for origins, it started with hackers who DIDN'T create a language when the hacked into Microsoft or whatever shit was put before. In fact, it was used in a sort of sub-text that is included in coding so that hackers who send lines of code to each other would know what it did while others would not.

Generally speaking there are two forms of leet; soft and hard core. Softcore can range from simply staggering the case of letters to substituting as many letters as possible for numbers. Hardcore leet involves substituting every character for one or more symbol, creating a complex, purposefully nearly unreadable language that attempts to make symbols look like letters.

Despite apparent popular belief, it is not stupid or idiodic, at least when used in moderation and in context. Would you seriously take your opinion from somebody as illiterate as those who posted the shit they did? Please.

n: a language originally created by computer hackers to communicate through their coding while others could not do such a thing. It misspells words that have been commonly misspelled in English, such as "Teh". It also spells most words phonetically, making it as easy to type in leet as possible. When a word ends in "X" or "cks", it is suitable to put an "orz" at the end. DO NOT put this on the end of every word. leet is also a very flexable language, so you can make your own words and modify the English language (teh smecks is a common substitute for sexy) in any way you see fit as long as it's close.

Translation: It's a variation of the word Elite, used by lamers who think they are Elite... often used with are variation of digits instead of letters... Often used by script kiddies to descripe their skill. (Original definition by scavenger)

Originating in the early 1980's, leet speak was first used by hackers as a way to prevent their websites/newsgroups from being found by simple keyword searches.
Leet speak grew and became popular in online games such as Doom in the early 1990's as a way of suggesting that you were a hacker (h4x0r), and therefore to be feared.
Leet, or 1337, is a short form of "elite," commonly used by video gamers to suggest that they are skilled.
Generally, "leet speak" is not used these days by anyone who could actually be considered "elite." Leet speak has been widely adopted by North American culture and these days is used by pretty much anyone. (Aka., n00bs.)

A way for virgin losers with small penises who live in their parents' basements to feel cool or special by typing so as to replace letters with numbers or phonetic equivalents that are recognizable to others of their nerdly kind. It may have served a purpose back when it first started, but it's now a completely useless waste of time. If you use leet, you should consider joining a gym, using some Stridex pads, and taking the time to talk to a member of the opposite sex about something that doesn't involve computers or video games.

I am unaccomplished virgin loser with a small penis; therefore, I try to make myself feel better by communicating through leet...or 1337...I'm shpeshial.